Title: dynamic structure factor
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - dynamic structure factor
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.12280
Status: current

Definition
Function describing the temporal dependence of relative scattering intensity on the magnitude of the scattering vector, \(q\).

Note
The value of the dynamic structure factor is characteristic of the various modes of motions of the polymer molecules or the dispersed particles and their parts and is also characteristic of the time-dependent interference of scattering, reflecting ordering of the positions of the scattering entities in time. In dynamic light scattering, it can be derived from the time autocorrelation function.

Related Term
- dynamic light scattering: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/12275

Source
- PAC, 2015, 87, 71. 'Definitions of terms relating to individual macromolecules, macromolecular assemblies, polymer solutions, and amorphous bulk polymers (IUPAC Recommendations 2014)' on page 110 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2013-0201)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12280/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12280/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12280/xml

Citation: Citation: 'dynamic structure factor' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.12280
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-07-26T00:30:39+00:00